2021 Ringo Award Winners Announced

Saturday, October 23 comic creative professionals, publishers, retailers, and fans who tuned in virtually all came together for the 2021 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards, which streamed live from Baltimore Comic-Con. Named for artist Mike Wieringo, this annual award focuses on the creativity, skill, and fun of comics, and anyone — whether fan or pro — may vote. The final tally was separated into the Fan Favorites and the Jury and Fan Winners, also there was the Mike Wieringo Spirit Award and the Hero Initiative Awards.

Wieringo his career in comics with Doc Savage: Doom Dynasty #1. After that, he worked at DC Comics on The Flash, where he and writer Mark Waid created Bart Allen, also known as Impulse. He also worked with Chuck Dixon on Robin. For Marvel, his work included pencils for the Amalgam title Spider-Boy #1 and runs on The Sensational Spider-Man, Rogue, and Fantastic Four.  Wieringo died of an aortic dissection at age 44.

 

2021 Mike Wieringo Comic Book Industry Awards:

Fan Favorites:

Favorite Hero: Persephone from Lore Olympus (WEBTOON)

Favorite Villain: Emma from My Deepest Secret (WEBTOON)

Favorite New Series: Midnight Poppy Land

Favorite New Talent: Lilydusk

Favorite Publisher: Rocketship Entertainment

 

Jury and Fan Winners:

Best Original Graphic Novel

• Buried But Not Dead, Source Point Press
• Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, Abrams Books
• The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, Drawn & Quarterly
• Moms, Drawn & Quarterly
• Pulp, Image Comics

Best Humor Comic

• Akissi: Even More Tales of Mischief, Flying Eye Books (US) / Nobrow Press
• ArkhaManiacs, DC
• Billionaire Island, AHOY Comics
• Love and Capes: The Family Way, Maerkle Press/IDW Publishing
• Metalshark Bro 2: Assault on Hamzig Island, Scout Comics
• Moms, Drawn & Quarterly
• Wicked Things, BOOM! Studios

Best Kids Comic or Graphic Novel

• Akissi: Even More Tales of Mischief, Flying Eye Books (US) / Nobrow Press
• Cat Kid Comic Club #1, Scholastic Graphix
• Jupiter Jet and the Forgotten Radio, Action Lab Entertainment
• Max Meow: Cat Crusader, Random House
• The Perhapanauts: First Blood, Black Caravan/Scout Comics
• Twins, Scholastic Graphix

Best Webcomic

• DPS Only (tapas.io/series/dpsonly/)
• Fangs (tapas.io/series/fangscomic/)
• Heart of the City (gocomics.com/heartofthecity/)
• Midnight Poppy Land (webtoons.com/en/romance/midnight-poppy-land/list?title_no=1798)
• Shiloh (webtoons.com/en/thriller/shiloh/list?title_no=1649)
• Totally Under Control (insider.com/comic-how-united-states-lost-control-of-coronavirus-pandemic-2020-9)

Best Humor Webcomic

• The Abominable Charles Christopher (karlkerschl.com/abominable/)
• Bagel High (instagram.com/yoyorobot/)
• Beware of Toddler (bewareoftoddler.com)
• Cassandra Comics (tapas.io/series/CassandraComics/)
• Cursed Princess Club (webtoons.com/en/comedy/cursed-princess-club/list?title_no=1537)
• The Middle Age (steveconley.com/the-middle-age/)
• Sarah’s Scribbles (tapas.io/series/Doodle-Time/)
• xkcd (xkcd.com)

Best Single Issue or Story

• All-America Comix #1, Image Comics
• Firefly: The Outlaw Ma Reynolds, BOOM! Studios
• Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx, Flying Eye Books (US) / Nobrow Press
• “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” from Ice Cream Man Presents Quarantine Comix Special #1, Image Comics
• The O.Z., self-published
• Parallel, Source Point Press

Best Series

• The Department of Truth, Image Comics
• Far Sector, DC
• Lore Olympus, WEBTOON
• My Deepest Secret, WEBTOON
• Usagi Yojimbo, IDW Publishing
• Wonder Woman: Dead Earth, DC

Best Anthology

• Be Gay, Do Comics, IDW Publishing
• Hey, Amateur! Go From Novice to Nailing It in 9 Panels, IDW Publishing
• Maybe Someday: Stories of Promise, Visions of Hope, A Wave Blue World
• Pandemix: Quarantine Comix in the Age of ‘Rona, self-published
• Votes for Women: The Battle for the 19th Amendment, Little Red Bird Press

Best Non-fiction Comic Work

• Banned Book Club, Iron Circus Comics
• Chasin’ the Bird: Charlie Parker In California, Z2 Comics
• Come Home Indio, Street Noise Books
• Dancing After TEN, Fantagraphics Books
• Grateful Dead – Origins, Z2 Comics
• Kent State: Four Dead in Ohio, Abrams Books
• We’ll Soon Be Home Again, Dark Horse Comics

Best Writer

• Penelope Bagieu
• Anthony Del Col
• Jason Douglas
• N.K. Jemisin
• Marjorie Liu
• James Tynion IV
• Ram V

Best Cartoonist (Writer/Artist)

• Derf Backderf
• Leeanne M. Krecic (Mongie)
• Stan Sakai
• Rachel Smythe
• Adrian Tomine
• Sophie Yanow

Best Artist or Penciller

• Josh Adams
• Jamal Campbell
• Elsa Charretier
• Hanza Art
• Sana Takeda

Best Inker

• Sanford Greene
• Brett Hobson
• Jjolee
• Gabriel Hernandez Walta
• Tonci Zonjic

Best Colorist

• Toyin Ajetunmobi
• Laura Allred
• Tamra Bonvillain
• Aladdin Lee Grant Rutledge Collar
• Jacob Phillips
• Joe Todd-Stanton
• Christian Ward

Best Letterer

• Deron Bennett
• Aditya Bidikar
• DC Hopkins
• Micah Myers
• Chas! Pangburn

Best Cover Artist

• Gian Carlo Bernal
• Stephanie Hans
• Maan House
• Steve Lieber
• Peach Momoko
• Kevin O’Neill
• Joe Todd-Stanton

Best Presentation in Design

• Crescent City Monsters, Dream Fury Comics
• Dave Cockrum’s X-Men Artifact Edition, IDW Publishing
• Electric Black, Black Caravan/Scout
• The Harrowing of Hell, Iron Circus Comics
• Heavy Metal #300, Heavy Metal
• Impossible Jones, Volume 1: Grin & Gritty, Panic Button Press
• Marcy and the Riddle of the Sphinx, Flying Eye Books (US) / Nobrow Press

Mike Wieringo Spirit Award: Folklords, BOOM! Studios.

 

Hero Initiative Awards:

Dick Giordano Humanitarian of the Year Award: Gene Ha

Hero Initiative Lifetime Achievement Award: Joe Quesada